A Reality with Monsters
by secretlysinister15
Summary: UPDATE:  Mary Sue dies in the end.  Read and enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Hi Everyone! Thanks for clicking my story. I've been working really hard on it, so the first thing I want to say is PLEASE REVIEW. I'll try to update every week, but that may not happen always. I'm already several chapters in though, so hopefully I'll be able to pull it off. Please enjoy and remember to REVIEW.

**Chapter 1**

Light. So much light. I'm blind, I can't see anything but the incredible whiteness of the light. I try to speak, but my throat is dry, and my mouth feels like it's full of cotton.

"Whu…where am I?"

A voice speaks, "Ah good! She is awake! Tell me, miss, what is your name?"

My name? What is my name? Suddenly I remember.

"Sarah…Dupree. My name is Sarah Dupree."

The voice again, it sounds German. "Very good Ms. Dupree, very good indeed."

"Tell me, Ms. Dupree, what is the last thing you remember?"

I frown. The last thing…?

"I remember working on the Weyland-Yutani loading docks, I was directing a shipment of terraforming supplies to some of the outer colonies…and then…um…"

I couldn't remember much after that.

"Doctor…?"

"Relax, all will be made clear in time."

Suddenly it sounds a lot less sweet, as it speaks to someone else. It sounds calculating, analytical, _cold_.

"Make a note doctor. Subject does not show any signs of amnesia."

I can see now. I'm in a white, laboratory setting. There is a table next to me with all sorts of medical supplies on it. There are three figures in the room with me. Two are dressed in white lab coats; I can't see their faces because of the bright light shining into my eyes. The other stands off to the side, in my clear field of vision. He is outfitted in armor and has a pistol holstered at his hip. He looks very gruff, and I can feel his anger. He unsettles me.

I try to sit up. The two men in lab coats hold me down. The German one speaks again.

"Now now, let's not be too hasty. How are you feeling?"

"I feel...a little woozy, but other than that, good. Doctor…" I hesitate slightly, "what's your name?"

"Oh, of course, how rude of me! I am Doctor Haussmann, and this is my assistant Doctor Khrushchev." Here he motioned to the other coat, who waved a hello and gave a smile.

There was something about these men and their smiles, they seemed fake. You see, I've always been really good at reading people. My parents always told me that I had a special gift for seeing people as they really are. I know when I am being lied to. And the only person who was expressing his true form was the soldier in the back. I decide to make a note of him.

"And who's that…?"

Dr. Haussmann pauses, and speaks between thin lips.

"That is Lt. Razchek…he is the Chief of Security here on Shangri La."

"Shangri La?" I ask.

"Yes, the deep space research station that you now reside on."

He finishes poking at my arm with some metal instrument.

"I would like you to sit up now, please."

Their white gloved hands are pressing against my back now, helping to push me into a sitting position. Now that the light is out of my eyes, I can clearly see their faces.

Dr. Haussmann is an older, Caucasian man. He has half moon spectacles and a white goatee. He reminds me more of a psychologist than a medical doctor. Dr. Khrushchev is a much younger, mousy looking man with brown hair.

"Please hold still for me, won't you Miss Dupree?"

I comply and the Doctor starts shining a light in my eyes.

"Normal pupil dilation, Dr. Khrushchev."

"Dr. Haussmann…" I begin, trying to sound as firm as I can, "what happened to me, and what's going on?"

He leaned back and sighed.

"Miss Dupree, I must insist that you wait until after we are done with your medical examination before asking any more questions."

"But I want to know what the hell is going on!"

I was starting to get angry. This slimy scientist and his evasiveness were getting on my nerves. I started to sweat heavily and shift uncomfortably.

The Doctor noticed this and gave that false smile. Now there was something sinister about it.

"Miss Dupree, I must insist that you relax…or I'll be forced to restrain you."

Now I started to freak out.

"What's going on? Why am I here?"

I made to move from the chair. Doctor Haussmann stepped away, and I noticed that his fake smile had been replaced by a cold glare. He looked at the soldier and snapped his fingers expectantly.

Nothing happened. I stepped off the chair.

The Doctor screamed, "Lt. Razchek, restrain the patient at once!"

The soldier spoke in a heavy, authoritive tone tinged with sarcasm.

"Oh, was that snap for me? Cause the last time I checked, I was a goddamn Marine, not some fricking hired thug."

I grabbed a scalpel off the table and crouched into a fighting stance. I was going to get some answers out of these scoundrels now.

The two scientists backed to the other side of the room, sweating heavily and looking nervous.

"Lt. Razchek, _please_…"

"Well, since you said `please'."

The big soldier moved in front of me. He didn't make a move for his pistol, instead reaching for a pair of hand cuffs hanging from his belt.

My earlier uncertainty had been replaced with righteous anger, and I wasn't afraid. I've done Krav Maga since I was a little girl, and was an expert in hand to hand combat. Taking the scalpel, I feinted stabbing him in the chest before jabbing for his throat.

He caught my hand just short of his trachea, and looked into my eyes with mild surprise.

"Hey! She knows that stabbing a person in the throat is a good way to hurt them. Good for you, sweetheart."

He twisted the blade away from his throat, but I came up with a hard punch from my left fist. I caught him on the cheek. He didn't flinch. I went to claw out his eye, but instead he twisted my arm behind my back and kicked my legs out from underneath me. Pinning me to the ground, he began to apply the cuffs to my wrists and spoke,

"Look, princess, there are a lot of stupid things that people do in the world. Some people walk into the street without looking both ways. Some people forget to pay their taxes. The stupid thing you just did? _Try to punch a Colonial Marine in the face_. Not a good idea."

He roughly pulled me to my feet, and my face burned with shame. I had never lost a fight before.

He noticed my embarrassment and snorted.

"This is unpleasant for everyone involved. Don't feel special. Whadaya want me to do with her, Doc?"

Haussmann adjusted his glasses, and looked perturbed at the way he was addressed.

"Take her to the holding cell we've prepared. And Lieutenant? Don't ever hesitate like that again, or I'll have you demoted and sent to guard _real _thugs on a lava planet."

The Marine snorted again.

"As you wish, _Doctor_."

He led me to the door of the lab, which opened with a _whoosh_.

We were in a medium sized corridor. Gun metal grey walls, cork bulletin boards with notices and hazard warnings on them, and lots and lots of the distinctive WY of the Company.

There were two more Marines standing on each side of the door. A short Hispanic male and a taller Black woman.

The Black woman eyed me suspiciously.

"What's the deal, LT?"

He grunted his response.

"Prisoner escort. We're to take this young lady to her new accommodations."

The two grunts looked at each other, apparently unimpressed with the task given to them.

I could care less. We began walking down the corridor, with the short Marine in front of me and the tall woman taking the rear. Razchek maintained a firm grip on my arm, shoving me along the walkway. I noticed a slight movement from him. He had used his free hand to reach into his armor, and he pulled out a flask. He took a sip from it and then returned it to his uniform. I smelled strong liquor.

"So I don't suppose you could tell me what's going on?"

He looked at me, and I could see the consideration on his face. Finally, he spoke.

"They don't tell us jarheads much, but the scuttlebutt is that you have something the company wants. Something very valuable. I don't really know, I don't really care. Ultimately its irrelevant to me, I'm only here because that's what command told me to do."

He went silent after that. Something the company wants? I wracked my brain. So far as I could tell, I didn't have anything. I was just an average company employee, a middle management nobody. I didn't have any industrial secrets, or secret government information, or a giant hidden fortune!

"This is some kind of mistake! I don't have anything like that! I swear!"

I stopped and pulled away from his arm. He jostled me and shoved me forward, hard.

"You missed the part where I said that I didn't care. And even if I did, I still don't believe you. The Company might be a bunch of greedy assholes, but they aren't stupid. They wouldn't kidnap someone unless they thought that there was something to be gained from it."

I frowned. Kidnapped? Suddenly it all came back to me.

I had returned to my apartment after a hard day's work handling that terraforming shipment. I unlocked my front door, and stepped inside. I tried flipping the switch, but the light wouldn't turn on. Infuriated and confused, I reached for the flashlight I kept next to the door. I turned it on, and realized I wasn't alone. There were dark figures huddled on the other side of the room. Suddenly, one of them pointed something at me and there was a gentle pop and a sharp prick in my neck.

Then I woke up to Doctor Haussmann, and then…here.

"You have to let me go! You have the wrong person!"

Razchek looked at me disdainfully, and then turned his attention to a door we had come to.

"What a surprise! We've arrived at your castle, princess. Get in."

"Why are you so mean?"

He laughed at my comment. This was a defensive laugh. There was some sadness and bitterness behind it, I could tell. This man didn't have the happiest past in the Galaxy.

The heavy, windowless door opened and he shoved me roughly inside. Then the door slammed shut with a heavy thump. I looked around the room.

Again, white walls. So exciting. There was a bunk bed on the side of the room, and a stall with a toilet on the other. Next to that were a sink and a mirror. One entire wall of the room was taken almost entirely up by a window, and there was an observation laboratory on the other side. I suddenly felt very violated. They were going to be watching me? This entire situation was so confusing!

I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself. My long auburn hair was slightly disheveled, but still in good condition. My green eyes were red with exhaustion, and my cream colored skin was slick with sweat. I'm not a very tall girl, only 5'3", but I make up for it by having an athletic body. I take pride in exercising every day, and it shows in my slightly larger than average muscles. I also take pride in the fact that I maintain a good level of physical fitness without becoming grotesque.

I look down at my clothing and realize I'm wearing what looks like some kind of scrubs. I turn bright red at this. Someone had changed me into this clothing when I was unconscious.

Suddenly there is a bright flash of light. I look to my left and see that Dr. Haussmann and Khrushchev have entered into the observation room. Haussmann has his fake smile again. He leans forward to a microphone and hits a button. I can hear his voice through hidden speakers,

"Do you like your room? I know it's not decorated yet, but we will allow you to spice it up to your liking. We wouldn't want you to be too uncomfortable now, we aren't inhumane after all."

I ran up to the window and slammed it as hard as I could. The two men noticeably jumped.

"Why are you doing this to me? What do you want?" I screamed.

The doctor smiled at my distress, which pissed me off. I slammed the window again.

"Answer me!"

Haussmann visibly inhaled. Then he leaned forward and began speaking,

"As I'm sure you are aware, Ms. Dupree, the Company keeps extremely thorough records on all of its employees. However, I wonder if you know just how extremely _thorough_ these records are."

He paused here and I felt apprehensive. What did Weyland know about me that I didn't?

"To be blunt, these records include very thorough psych evaluations, tests that were done under the table, so to speak. For example, do you recall that chemical spill that happened on your watch last October?"

I nodded here. One of the containers for a highly toxic herbicide had sprung a leak. I had to order everyone off of the loading dock and call a hazmat team.

"What about it?" I said.

He smiled, "Pool water."

"What?" I gasped in shock.

"Well, that's a bit of an oversimplification I suppose, there were other things in there than chlorine. Just enough to make it look real. We wanted to be able to fool you, after all. Of course you may say to yourself that such tests would be a waste of time, that they would cost the Company precious money. But the truth is that Weyland firmly believes being able to…utilize…its employees to their maximum use is worth such endeavors."

He stopped again to take a sip of water. I was trembling now. How much of my life had been a lie? A setup by the company, to _test_ me? It was inconceivable. I was broken out of my thoughts when he continued speaking.

"The second reason Company files are so complete is that they contain advanced information regarding your DNA."

I gasped. My DNA? Suddenly I understood what was going on.

"There's something in my genes that you want."

Sorry, no Aliens or Preds this chapter, but they will appear in the next one! Ty and please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone, thank you so much to the people who reviewed the story! Lilena, thanks for the early confidence boost! And backwaterplanet, I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations! Anyways, here's Chapter Two as promised!

**Chapter 2**

Haussmann clapped his hands together and laughed.

"Very good Ms. Dupree, very good! That is certainly very true, but you must not forget what I have already said about the psychological tests. You see, Sarah, we believe that you have a very, _unique_, ability for a human being. We first became suspicious of it after that incident involving the rynth. You remember this of course?"

"Yeah. Some rynth broke out of their holding cages and we had to guide them back in. One of my workers nearly got trampled and I had to jump in and save him. I almost got squished too."

"But you didn't. Why?"

"Uhh…"

I tried hard to remember what exactly had happened. One of the bulls had shattered through a door, leading to a small stampede of the antagonized animals. One of the dock workers, Simmons, had gotten in the way and I literally leapt into the path of the running animals to stop them. I raised my hands and started making cooing sounds. The bull stopped just short of pounding me into the ground.

"I have a way with animals?" I spoke lamely. Not that it was untrue. I do enjoy spending time with animals, and they seem to get along pretty well with me.

Haussmann stared at me, and then spoke, "We don't know what you did, but somehow you were able to suppress a charging horde of scared rynth."

He shuffled some papers, and seemed to be reading them.

"Upon reviewing your genetic records, we discovered something that is most exciting."

I suddenly felt very afraid. What did Weyland-Yutani know about me that I didn't?

Haussmann did not wait for me to ask.

"You are the holder of a very unique mutation within the human genome. A very recent occurrence, by evolutionary standards. Indeed, we only know of a small number of cases. This facility, Shangri-La, is Weyland-Yutani's top genetic research station. We bring all of our special cases here for study, you may meet some of the others later. After our first series of tests."

I frowned. That did not sound pleasant at all.

"Doctor, you can't do this! Kidnapping people and…and running experiments on them! It's inhumane!"

He just ignored me.

"The first test we're going to run will be tomorrow morning. Food will be delivered to you in an hour. After eating, I suggest you get some sleep. It's in your interest to cooperate with us, Ms. Dupree."'

He smiled cruelly, "Sweet dreams!"

He pushed a button, and a metal shield started to lower itself over the window.

The food came when he said it would. I wasn't hungry.

I crawled into the small cot in the corner of the room and cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I was awoken to a pounding on my door. Seconds later, it opened up with a loud clank and Razchek walked in with two of his cronies.

"Alright, up and at 'em! Dr. Haussmann wants you at the lab by 0800."

I looked at him and wrinkled my nose.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be hitting the bar?"

He looked at me for a moment with anger in his eyes. Then he shrugged,

"I figured since I had to deal with your ugly face this morning it wouldn't hurt to be a little sauced."

My mouth fell open and the other two marines hooted and jeered.

"You're a jerk!" I screamed, and he laughed before grabbing my arm and hauling me out of the room.

We walked in silence. I wondered if I should be memorizing the corridors, in case I could try and escape, but it would have been a waste of time. Even if I could somehow, steal a ship or something, I wouldn't know how to fly it. Space stations make good prisons.

Suddenly Razchek's com started speaking. He motioned for us to stop and held a hand to his ear. He frowned and sighed.

"Some jackass down at the cafeteria is trying to start a fight with one of the other workers. I need to go down and oversee the arrests. You two continue with the prisoner to the lab."

He started towards an elevator.

"My name is Sarah you jerk!" I shouted after him.

"Ok. Alright men, I'm giving you permission to use your tazers on `Sarah' if she tries to escape."

The elevator doors closed before I could call him a jerk for a third time that morning. We continued walking, only this time I started talking.

"What bug crawled up his ass and died?"

The trooper to my left, the same Hispanic man from yesterday, looked at his compatriot, then at me, then shrugged.

"In a nut shell, old Razzy's problem is the bug that didn't crawl up his ass. Or down his throat, to be more accurate."

I giggled. Razzy? What a cheesy nickname!

"Do you call him Razzy to his face? And what do you mean down his throat?"

The man, who had "Jose" written in white ink across his shoulder plate, laughed.

"Hell no! He'd kick my ass. And probably punch the guy next to me for good measure. He might be a jerk, but he's a total badass motherfucker too."

Then he got real quiet and solemn.

"That's his problem too, he's a real badass. Only survivor of a shitty drop on LV-756."

His next words were a hush, I could barely hear.

"Xenomorphs got the rest of his squad. All of 'em. Razzy was the only one who made it out. That's why he drinks. He feels like total shit for what happened."

I was shocked. I had heard rumors about the Xenomorphs. All Company employees had. But Weyland-Yutani and the government kept a tight lid on information about the Aliens. Didn't want to cause a panic, or have too many questions raised. Everyone knew they were out there though, and when humans encountered them there were rarely any survivors. The only people who stood a chance were the Colonial Marines who had to fight them. Everyone else…just disappeared.

I was pulled away from my thoughts when Jose tapped me on the shoulder. He looked regretful, and hesitant,

"But, ah, you didn't hear it from me, _comprende_?"

I smiled and patted Jose on the shoulder.

"No worries. And thank you, I appreciate it very much."

He smiled and nodded, and we continued the rest of the way in silence.

The tests they ran on me were rather weird. They had me hooked up to a weirdo machine that had stickers attached to my head. Then they told me to try and guide mice through a maze by commands.

I didn't notice anything peculiar. It seemed to me like they were running along by themselves, although Haussmann and his scientists seemed to be paying very close attention. Every time one of the white mice moved an inch, they would all look down at their pads and scribble furiously.

After the mice, it was dogs. Then fish.

By the time Jose and another Marine had escorted me back to my room (Razchek was nowhere to be found, probably off drunk somewhere), I had worked with a proverbial zoo!

Jose wished me goodnight, and I flopped down on the mat. Haussmann was in the observation room, talking to one of his scientists. I didn't care, I was far too exhausted. Suddenly, there was a commotion from the observation room. I looked up, startled to see Razchek burst in suddenly and start yelling Haussmann. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but after reading his lips, I couldn't help but blush. Razzy was real angry about something…I concentrated on his lips harder.

He stopped suddenly and looked directly at me, confusion in his eyes. Haussmann noticed this, and he arched an eyebrow in interest. He mumbled something to his fellow scientist, who started pressing buttons on the panel in front of him.

"What are you guys talking about?" I shouted.

Haussmann stared at me, then tapped the speaker button.

"There's no need to yell, Miss Dupree. I know you can't see them, but we have small microphones all over your room."

"That's all fine and creepy, but what has Razzy so pissed off?"

Haussmann guffawed and Razchek's ears turned red and he glared at me. He said something foul and left the room, turning to look at me one last time. The pity I saw in his eyes made me feel suddenly uncomfortable.

"You haven't answered my question, Doctor." I said in the normal tone of voice.

"The Lt. is just frustrated with some of our research methods. Which reminds me, you and I have something very serious to discuss."

Uh-oh. That did not sound good at all.

"Uh…what is that Doctor?"

He smiled, that cruel, evil smile of his.

"We are a results oriented operation, Miss Dupree. Running this station and the experiments on it is extremely time consuming and expensive. I have received orders from my superiors to begin stepping up the next phase of our research."

This was beginning to sound worse and worse. I began to feel sick to my stomach. Haussmann continued,

"Your performance in those tests today was less than stellar, Miss Dupree. Suffice to say the results were inconclusive and worthless. I have concluded that you require certain…stimuli, in order to exert your abilities. Namely, panic, fear, anger, anything that evokes the fight or flight response in you."

Fantastic, the wacko was planning on scaring the pants off of me. It was working all ready.

"Doctor, you wouldn't do anything to hurt me, would you?" I asked lamely.

Again, the evil smile came.

"Again, Miss Dupree, we are results oriented. If one experiment shows no promise, we scrap it and move on to another one. Weyland-Yutani has one reason why its interested in your ability to control animals, and that reason is this."

He reached over and pressed a button. The door opened, and two more scientists came into my room carrying, something…some animal inside of a cage. It looked like a snake…

…only it didn't have any eyes.

I screamed. I knew what it was. Like I said, I heard the stories, about the Aliens, the Xenomorphs. It was a freshly born Alien…a chestburster, I think they call it.

The scientists opened the cage and quickly left the room.

I was alone with an Alien.

Finally, the Alien appears! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone! Thanks again to all the people who reviewed, and another thanks to the people who fav'd. Please don't stop! More action this chapter, see you again next week!

**Chapter 3**

I screamed again. The chestburster hissed at me and began to slithering in my direction. I fell backwards and crawled towards the corner. The chestburster continued advancing towards me, slowly, as if unsure whether it could kill me or not. Suddenly, Haussmann chimed in over the speaker,

"I suggest you tell it to stop Miss Dupree. Though small, it can still easily kill you."

"STOP!" I screamed, at the top of my lungs. The Alien continued to advance.

"STOP!" I screamed again, this time concentrating harder on the menacing beast.

It paused. It actually paused and looked at me! I yelled again,

"Go back to your cage! Go on, shoo!"

The Alien stared at me, tilted its little head to the side, then turned around and curled up in its cage! I dove forward and slammed the door shut. It squealed loudly and curled up tighter, looking in my direction.

I stared at it for a long time, and it stared right back (as much as an animal can stare when it doesn't have any eyes). When I turned to look at the observation room, I saw that the blast shield was down. Haussmann and his cronies were probably watching me through their cameras. I turned back when I heard a loud crashing sound. The little Alien was thrashing around inside of its cage, banging against the walls and close to knocking it over. I didn't care if it killed itself, but that damn banging was getting on my nerves!

"Stop that you little idiot! It's too loud!" I shouted.

It stopped rolling around and turned to look at me. Then it did something that was…dare I say it? Adorable. It mewled at me. Not like a cat, you know, but a weak, babyish sound that made it seem for what it was… a newborn.

I giggled. "Well hello to you to Mr. Alien! And here I thought you were going to try and kill me."

It mewled at me again. Then it slithered forwards and began tapping its head against the door. Obviously it wanted out. I wasn't so sure that was a good idea. I approached the cage and it stopped tapping, staring up at me with its eyeless face.

"You want out huh? I'm not so sure that's a good idea…tell you what, I'll release you only if you promise to behave yourself. That means no attacking me or anyone else. And stay where I can see you! Will you do that?"

It continued to stare up at me.

"Ok, I'm gonna let you out now, and no sudden moves!" I started to unlatch the cage. I bit my lip…I hoped I wasn't making a mistake! The latch unlocked and two things happened really fast.

The first was that the cage door slammed open with the force of a coiled spring pushing against it. The second was that the little Alien leapt out and curled itself around my neck. I fell back with a yell, and starting choking for air…until I realized that the Alien wasn't actually strangling me. He had simply curled up around my neck like a pet snake!

I giggled and pet his little head. He nuzzled against me and mewled. Suddenly Dr. Haussmann came in over the speakers.

"Very impressive Ms. Dupree! You have him trained and fawning over you already! This is a most exciting development. I'll arrange for one of my scientists to come pick up your little friend in a few minutes. If you'll return him to his ca-"

"Uh… Dr. Haussmann?" I interrupted.

"…Yes Ms. Dupree, what is it?" He responded, irritation evident in his voice.

"I was wondering if maybe I could keep him with me in here. Seeing as that you haven't given me any entertainment and he seems to like me."

There was a long pause over the speaker. Obviously Haussmann had not expected that response. I smiled a little at catching him off guard. Soon he began speaking again,

"Very well then Ms. Dupree, you may keep your new friend with you. I must warn you though, he will begin to grow very rapidly… and his adult form is not anywhere near so…cute…as he is now. I'll have the scientist bring in some meat for him to eat with your dinner…you'll keep him under control I assume?"

"You bet Doctor!" I nodded my head. There was no response.

Within a few minutes, a man in a white lab coat and wearing goggles over his eyes cautiously entered the room. He was carrying a platter of steaks, one of which was cooked (yummy!) and the rest of which were raw. His goggles were fixed on the alien.

As he entered the room, I smiled mischievously to myself. He set the steaks down, and suddenly the alien sprung up and hissed at him. The man yelled, fell down and crawled on all fours out of the room as quickly as he could!

I fell over laughing to myself, my little prank having gone off flawlessly. The chestburster seemed to partake in my mirth, rolling around on the ground and squealing. After I had calmed myself down, I began to eat my steak. The little Alien ravenously tore into his, spraying blood and raw meat everywhere. Just as we were finishing up, a voice came in over the speaker…only it wasn't Haussmann, it was Razzy. He sounded very concerned.

"Susan, are you there? Are you alright?"

"Hi Razzy! I'm fine, the situation is under control."

"First off, don't call me that. Second off, what do you mean you've got it under control?"

I spent the next couple of minutes explaining the situation with my new friend to him. He seemed absolutely incredulous.

"Susan, are you joking? That thing is dangerous! You have to get out of there, I've got marines who can come in and-"

"Otouto is not dangerous!" I yelled, hugging him to me closely.

"What? Don't tell me you named that damn monster? OK, I'll bite, what the hell does `Orzo" mean?"

"Orzo is a type of pasta you jerk, `Otouto' is Japanese for `little brother', and it's what I named him."

There was a long silence on the line. Maybe he'd left…

"Susan, this is crazy! Those things are vile, evil! They consume and kill and that's all they know how to-"

"I've had enough of this!" I interrupted, "Just because you had a bad experience with the Aliens doesn't give you a right to kill this one! I've got him under control!"

The silence was longer this time. I started to feel bad for snapping at Razchek. I spoke up, something suddenly coming to my mind.

"Hey Razchek? Are you there still?"

"Yeah…I am."

"What's your first name?"

"…Its Jim, and if that's how you feel about the Alien, then fine."

There was a click and I knew he was gone. I hugged Otouto to myself and pet his head. He mewled in appreciation. Picking him up, I took him with me to my cot. I laid down, and Ototou curled up in my lap. Soon I was asleep.

Some time early the next morning, I awoke to an unfamiliar sensation. It felt like… something was dripping on my face. I put my hand on it and drew it away…it was sticky, like glue. I looked up and my heart stopped.

Otouto had molted in the middle of the night, because hanging from the ceiling above me was one of the most terrifying things I had ever seen. He grinned at me with a large mouth filled with pearly white fangs and oozing drool.

"Ew! Otouto, you drooled all over my face! Don't do that!"

His mouth closed and he fell from the ceiling, flipped and landed deftly on two gangly legs that ended in taloned feet. I sized him up. I'd never seen an adult Xenomorph before. He looked like a large, humanoid beetle, with a carapace black as the darkest depths of space.

The monstrous apparition nuzzled me and hissed. I giggled.

"Good morning to you to, Otouto, I'm glad to see you've grown up. You look scary."

He stood up to his full height and hissed. I gasped. He was quite the sight to behold. I wasn't the only one amazed at the Alien that morning. Dr. Haussmann looked close to pissing himself when he opened the blast shield a few minutes later.

He spoke through the com, "Well, I see our little friend has molted into his drone stage. Ms. Dupree, I trust you realize the folly of failing to keep him under control? Or, perhaps, attempting to use him in an escape attempt?"

I had thought about it of course. But assuming I could actually get away, I didn't know how to fly a shuttle… a space station is a sucky place to escape from.

"Yeah Doc. I'll keep him under control. Isn't that right my little droolbucket!"

I cooed and pet him on his black dome. He hissed at me happily.

"Hm. Razchek and two of his marines will arrive to escort you to the testing laboratory shortly. I suggest you don't pull the same trick with them as you did with Dr. Houston, they won't scare as easy and they have guns." Haussmann said.

I grunted and waved my hand. Minutes later, the door opened at Jose cautiously peeked his head inside.

"Hey Sarah, you alive in here?"

"Hi Jose!" I yelled and waved to him from my cot on the corner. Otouto was curled up at me feet, and Jose eyed him suspiciously.

"We have restraints, for your, uh…friend."

I waved him off. "That's not necessary, he'll behave himself."

Jose looked helpless turned around and said something. Razchek walked in, keeping his gun trained on Otouto. He spoke, cautiously,

"Sarah. I know you think you can keep him under control, but if he breaks loose of your hold, it'll be a disaster. Do you know what one of those things can do to a room filled with unarmed men?"

"He's not a thing!" I stood up and shouted. Otouto began to become aggravated and turned to hiss at Razchek. Razchek cocked his gun and glared.

"Right, he's your little Oscar-"

"Otouto!"

"…whatever. Point is, despite the fact that you've anthropomorphisized him, he can still kill everything on this base without breaking a sweat."

I drew a blank.

"Anrthropowhatnow?" I said.

"It means you're giving human attributes to something that is most assuredly _not_ human. Some kookoo environmentalists do it to animals, treating them like people when they don't have anything close to our level of sentience. Or if they do, like chimps and whales, they attribute personality traits to them that they don't have."

I hugged Otouto to me. "Otouto is my friend, regardless of whether you think he's smart or not. And I will not have my friend chained up like a common prisoner!"

Razchek stared at me. He frowned and blinked, something pressing on his mind. He looked back up at me.

"Alright girlie, we'll do it your way. But if he so much as drools in a way I don't like…"

He hefted his rifle up to his shoulder.

"Pow! Getit?"

I nodded. He stepped to the side and I guided Otouto through the door. He stepped into the hallway and the marines took up positions on his flanks. I followed him and Razchek followed me towards the laboratory.

We walked down the corridor in silence. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the end of the hall. Someone, a little girl, was running down the hallway at breakneck speed, laughing and giggling to herself. She was being chased by two men in labcoats.

The little girl was not looking in front of her, instead focused on the people behind her. She kept running until she struck Otouto on his chest plate and fell backwards. She stared up at him with big googly eyes, eyes far too large for a normal human being. She was silent, staring, Otouto stared back, reared up and hissed. The marines shouldered their guns.

Razchek was fast. He stepped in front of me.

"Don't shoot! If you shoot now she gets covered in acid. Sarah, call him off!"

"Him, Razzy?" I smiled. He wasn't calling Otouto a thing any more!

"Damnit it Sarah, I said call him off!"

"Otouto, she's just a little girl, it was an accident! Calm down drooly."

Otouto made a sound like a sigh and fell back on to his haunches. The little girl stood up and looked at him. The lab techs stood back, observing the situation with curiosity and fear. The little girl reached out and touched Otouto's head, running her small hand gently down the dome. She giggled.

"My name's Jezzebell, but everyone calls me Jessy. What's yours?"

I stepped out from behind Razchek and kneeled in front of Jessy.

"His name's Otouto, and mine is Sarah. It's nice to meet you Jezebel!"

"Hi Sarah! It's nice to meet you too!"

The two techies walked up. One gently put his hand on Jezzebell's shoulder.

"Jessy, sweetie, you know you can't leave your room without adult supervision! You might get hurt."

She turned around, and looked up at him with her big googly eyes. It was now I realized that her eyes weren't too large, but her head was too small. She was very sickly looking and pale. She whined,

"But Mr. Smith, I never get to go anywhere! And the other kids were being mean to me!"

Mr. Smith smiled. "Well then, we'll have to talk with them about that."

Jessy smiled. "Can Sarah and Otouto come to? Huh, huh, huh?"

Mr. Smith looked hesitant, "Uh, I don't know…"

"We'd love too!" I said. I leaned down and said to Jessy, "These meanies won't let me go anywhere either!"

Jessy giggled and looked pleadingly at Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith looked pleadingly at Razzy. Razzy looked casually at his watch.

"Eh, we have till 1000 hours. As long as the Alien behaves himself it shouldn't be a problem."

Jessy cheered loudly and grabbed my and Otouto's hands. Mr. Smith let out a sigh as the little girl dragged us down the hall toward her room.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about being a little late! I was in an area with little to know internet and I couldn't upload anything! Thanks to all the people who reviewed, I hope that this chapter meets some of your explanations!

**Chapter 4**

When we arrived at Jessy's room I was shocked to see that it was filled with children. Various toys littered the floor and there were several cots up against the wall. I turned to Mr. Smith,

"What's all this? Why are there so many kids here?"

He turned back to me and responded, "As you may know by now, Shangri La is Weyland-Yutani's top genetic research station. You didn't think that every mutated human was an adult now, did you?"

He smiled. "We keep the children together as a form of convenience, pending whether or not their condition allows them to be with others."

I turned sharply away from Mr. Smith as I heard a loud squeal. One of the children had tapped Otouto on the hand and ran away as he hissed angrily at her. I frowned,

"Otouto, be nice. Go play with the children." Otouto, looked at me, then rose up on two legs and sauntered over to a large group of kids who all huddled together and stared in fascination.

I laughed loudly as I watched several of the children tumble over Otouto and play horsie with his spines. Such a site, seeing these little children playing with the vicious monster! There was even what appeared to be a hybrid, a little boy, maybe nine or ten, with spines growing out of his back and claws for hands and feet. His eyes were pitch black, and a long jagged tail swished happily behind him. I turned to Mr. Smith,

"Hey, what's the deal with that kid…why is he part Xenomorph?"

Mr. Smith answered "Ah yes. Young Timothy was a science experiment for one of our competitors. During a…hostile takeover, I suppose you could say, he was captured and transferred here for research. He was born with large amounts of Xenomorph DNA grafted to his…the result causing him to be a hybrid. Quite fascinating…oh, and don't let his appearance fool you, he really is a very nice lad."

Razchek spoke up now, "Doctor, pardon me for saying but that sounds completely inane. How can you splice the DNA of a silicone based life form with a human? Do bugs even have DNA? And even if you could, wouldn't the resulting creature be dead from medical complications in seconds?"

Mr. Smith smiled. "You ask some interesting questions lieutenant…ones I'm afraid I don't entirely understand myself. However, I can tell you that…"

I stopped paying attention there. Scientific babaldygook carries no interest for me. I walked up to Jessy. She was holding onto Otouto's tail and he was lifting her off the ground.

"Jessy, sweety, you mind if I ask you a question? "

She smiled up at me, "Sure you can Sarah. I don't mind at all."

"Why are they keeping you here on this station?"

She looked down at her feet in a very forlorn manner.

"I have a special sickness that doctors have never seen before. I don't get what's wrong with me, but the people here seem to think it makes me special. They say that if they study it enough, they can use it for all sorts of doctor stuff…and maybe make it so I'm not sick anymore!"

So that was why she looked so emaciated…I couldn't think of anything to do except hug her close to me.

"I hope you get better Jessy." I said.

She snuggled into me and we stayed like that until Razchek tapped his watch and said that it was time to go. I sent a signal to Otouto and he freed himself from the little grasping hands with a gentle shake of his body. The children laughed and yelled happily as they went tumbling from him. He patted over on all fours and nudged my hand.

As we were leaving Mr. Smith clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Feel free to come back any time. Due to the medical and experimental nature of all the children's conditions, they aren't allowed to do much, so interesting experiences are a plus. Helps to keep them more manageable."

I said that I would definitely take him up on that offer, waved goodbye to all the kids and left the room with the Marines and Otouto.

Instead of going to the same lab as yesterday, Razchek led us to a different room on one of the lower levels. It was interesting being cramped into an elevator with a killer Alien and a bunch of heavily armed Marines. Halfway down the door opened up and the techie who wanted to get on fainted. We all sort of just stared at the sleeping woman and the door closed and we continued on our way.

The door Razchek brought us to was huge. It reminded me of a warehouse entrance. Once we got inside, I saw that it was in fact, a warehouse. Large metal crates were stacked on top of each other, and there was a chain link fence crisscrossing the area in between. I looked around some more and saw Dr. Haussmann and a couple of his goons on a large raised platform. He turned to us and spoke through a speaker,

"Hello and welcome to the testing ground. If all humans present would please join us on the platform, we can begin as soon as possible. Ms. Dupree, if you would direct Otouto to the yellow square."

I sent the signal and Otouto crawled into the yellow square and squatted, waiting patiently. Meanwhile, I walked up a flight of stairs to stand next to the scientists. The hooked me up the same machine as last time, the one that looked a like a tinfoil hat mixed with an octopus. Dr. Haussmann began giving instructions to me.

"When the gate opens, I want you to direct the Alien down the paths with the yellow arrows. When he arrives at a stack of crates, have him crawl to the top and jump to the other stack, then down. Various obstacles have been dropped here and there; I need you to guide him around them. You are being timed, so move as quickly as you can."

I nodded my affirmative. I sent a signal to Otouto.

"Hey buddy, lets kick some ass, OK?"

His tail wagged in agreement and he tensed up, prepared to spring. Haussmann held up a timer and shouted "Begin!".

Otouto sprang through the gate, went hauling down the corridor and turned on a dime at the first yellow arrow. He kept going, and when he reached the first stack of crates, he leapt to the top one, and from there, he sprang to the other tower. From there he clambered down the other side, and came to his first obstacle, a door.

I sent an image to him, grasping the knob and turning it, then pushing it open. Sure enough, Otouto did just that. I cheered and clapped my hands. The Marines watched on with increased interest, and the scientists monitored their equipment. Otouto blasted through the door and hurled down the lane. He deftly jumped over a small obstacle and clawed up the side of a wall, then down the other side. He was making a corner now, and I saw that they had placed a series of sticky paper traps along the floor. I told Otouto to climb on the fence around the traps. He did so, and we lost a bit of time, but at least he wasn't dragging a bunch of paper around!

Otouto continued to haul his skinny black butt around the track. He came to an area where a fake airvent had been set up. He used his claws to tear off the grid and pulled himself inside. It was really interesting seeing the large insectoid with a bunch of spines pull itself into such a tight space, but he managed to do it flawlessly! I lost visual contact with him as he navigated his way through the vent, but I still felt his presence in my mind. When he came out the other end, there was another obstacle for him to jump over.

"Jump!" I yelled, and Otouto did just that. There was a loud crashing sound behind me. Apparently all the excitement had gotten to Razzy, because he seemed to have stumbled and fallen over. He was blinking, looking very confused as to what happened.

"I suggest you focus on the obstacle course Ms. Dupree." Haussmann said.

Right. I refocused on Otouto. He came to another door…the last obstacle. I didn't need to send him a signal, this time he opened it on his own. He came speeding around the final corner and over the finish line. I jumped and cheered loudly. Otouto seemed pleased as well, as he reared up on his hind legs and snarled happily, although it still sounded scary!

"One minute, thirty-three seconds. Very good." Haussmann said, nodding to himself and scribbling something on his pad. After finishing his notes, he looked up at me and said,

"You can remove the device from your head. We are done for the day. Lt. Razchek, I understand that you have taken her to see some of the other experiments. I wish you had consulted me before allowing her and her friend to freely wander the station. However, seeing as that she seems to be under control and has no interest in escape, I will allow this. Why don't you take her to the cafeteria for lunch?"

Razchek massaged his forehead, nodded and told everyone to move out. On the way to the cafeteria level, we bumped into the same woman who had fainted earlier. She fainted again, and we all just sort of…stared, again.

The cafeteria was pretty average looking. Solid metal tables bolted to the floor, unexciting white tiles stained with splotches of old food. And of course, the counter where they served the food. I approached said counter

"I'll have a burger and some fries. No mayo. Uh, he'll take about fifteen patties…rare."

The man behind the counter turned and gaped at Otouto. He looked at Razchek, who shrugged, and then the man turned around to get our food. We waited patiently, Jose went over to a soda machine and came back with some drinks. Once the cook returned with our food, we found a table and sat down at it. Otouto stared at us sitting in the table, before carefully sliding in next to me. He was a fast learner.

Although you couldn't say the same for his table manners. The Alien tore into his food with the same gusto he had when he was just a little chestburster. Razchek must have agreed because he made sure he saw me wiping the flying juices from his face.

"Honestly, Sarah, why don't you have him eat on the floor? Less friendly fire that way."

I swallowed my bite of burger and replied,

"Otouto deserves to eat at the table with the rest of us. You can't blame him for having poor table manners, he doesn't know any better."

My Alien friend punctuated the point by giving a low hiss at Razzy. Razzy leaned in close and said threateningly,

"Don't you start that bug crap with me pal. One wrong move and you'll have more bullets in your head than you have fingers."

Which is quite a statement considering that Xenomorph drones have twelve of them as opposed to our measly ten. Otouto did not take kindly to the Marine's threat… actually it was probably his tone, I doubt Otouto understood the details of the threat. He reared up out of the table, but Razzy must have been expecting that because he head butted Otouto with his helmet and sent the Alien sprawling backwards on the white floor. Otouto was pissed! He jumped to his feet and screeched loudly at Razchek. I wasn't planning on letting it get any further than that. I leapt in between them.

"Stop it you two! This is a stupid thing to fight about! Razzy, you shouldn't have baited Otouto and hurt him like that! Otouto, you leave dealing with the Marines to me!"

The Alien's response to my chastising was quick. He hunched over and mewled at me. Razzy was a bit slower, but he removed himself from his fighting stance and sat back down at the table. Jose and the other Marine looked on with interest.

We continued our meal in relative peace. Jose and I made small talk while Razheck eyed Otouto suspiciously and the other Marine nodded her head. When we were nearly finished, Razzy's comlink beeped at him. He excused himself and went over to the other side of the room. I couldn't make out what was being said, but the voice sounded like Haussmann's and it was extremely urgent. Razzy turned and looked at me with a very serious face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"There's a serious problem down in one of the labs with a new test subject. Jose, you and Marceline go get the rest of squad one and meet us down at lab six with full kit. That includes smart guns."

"Us?" I asked while the two Marines hustled quickly out of the cafeteria.

"Yeah, `us'. You and Otouto are coming down with me. We'll need his muscle and your abilities. They've brought a Hunter on board Shangri La and apparently he's not happy about it."

Finally a Yautja appears!


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, so many wonderful reviews! Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on my story. But I'm sure you'd all rather I just shut up and bring on the Yautja, so here it goes!

**Chapter 5**

The three of us hurried down to Lab Six. Along the way, Razchek explained to me who and what a "Hunter" was.

"They're a highly advanced race, warp drives, plasma weapons, stuff like that. The worst is their cloaking tech. They can turn themselves invisible, see? They do that 'cause they like to hunt. From what we can tell their culture centers on it. Only they don't hunt ducks, they hunt dangerous animals. Including us. And your Alien friend as well."

That sounded pretty crazy to me. If it weren't for the fact that Otouto was running alongside me I probably would not have believed him. I did have one question though,

"Uh, Razzy, what do these "Hunters" look like?"

"I've never fought 'em before, but from what I've been told, they look a little like big, bipedal lizards with crab faces. They have mammalian features too though. Some kinda hair, or long spines maybe, that they keep in dreadlocks. Techs say they might be biologically similar to ancient Terran synapsids, although I hesitate to label anything that alien as being similar to an Earth animal."

I didn't know what a synsapsid was, but these "Hunters" sounded pretty damn scary. I had to ask,

"So…you want me to try and control it and stop it from ripping people's heads off?"

He smiled, "That's the idea. You can try and have Otouto hold him down if you like, seeing as that he's the only animal on this station capable of doing so."

I gulped and looked at the Alien. I didn't want him to get hurt…but then again, I didn't want to get hurt either!

"Uh, Razzy, can't you just, you know, tranque him or something?"

Razzy chortled. "That was my first idea, but Haussmann said they gave him enough tranquilizer to put down an elephant…and that just made him mad. Nope, you're our best bet. Just try not to get smashed, roger?"

"Uh, roger." I gulped.

We arrived at Lab Six. There were several scientists outside, including Haussmann, who was nursing what appeared to be a broken arm. There were also several large, bloody cuts and black eyes spread out among the white coats. Haussmann spoke,

"Ah, Lt. Razchek, you're here, that's excellent. I see you've brought Ms. Dupree with you as well, I assume you intend to use her to calm our guest? Oh, and be careful with Otouto. Seeing an Alien might spark the Hunter to new levels of rage."

As if to extenuate the point, there was a loud BAM! on the metal door. I jumped and hid behind Razchek and Otouto, staring uncertainly at the large dent. Jose and a squad of Marines came trundling up behind us wearing all of their armor and carrying some very big guns. He looked at Razzy,

"How we gonna do this, Sir?"

Razzy frowned and thought briefly. Then he spoke up,

"Otouto goes in first and tackles the Hunter. I'll follow and help to hold him down. Then Sarah comes in and starts working her magic. I want you boys to stay outside as back up, if we need you, come in hot but check your targets!"

Dr. Haussmann interrupted here, "Let's not have it come to that, shall we? You can't imagine the trouble I went through to acquire this subject. Keep him alive at all costs. Oh, and try not to trip on Dr. Khruschev on the way in. I regret that he did not survive the creature's blows."

Razzy grunted. "If it comes to me and the lives of my men, I won't hesitate to wipe out the ecosystems of entire planets. If we need to shoot him, he gets shot. Be happy our first try is as gentle as you want it."

Haussmann glared but kept silent. Razchek moved over to the door panel and signaled to Otouto to approach the door. I repeated the order to him and the black humanoid moved in front of the entry way, tensing up and preparing to spring. I felt cold sweat on my back. Razchek looked at me and smiled.

"Relax. The worst that can happen is somebody gets killed. Well, somebody else as far as Khruschev is concerned."

I gulped and nodded. I had an Alien and a squad of Colonial Marines protecting me. I was not in any danger.

Razzy hit the button on the door and Otouto stormed into the room with a loud screech. I watched over his shoulder and gasped.

The first thing that struck me about the Hunter was that he was tall, very tall. He must have been at least eight feet. Broad muscles rippled down his lean body, and his face was both bizarre and yet strangely noble. He had a four mandibles and a muzzle lined with little shark teeth. He glared with a pair of angry orange eyes that sank back into sockets set deeply in his skull.

These eyes bore a look of surprise. Obviously he had not expected to be suddenly confronted by a Xenomorph. Otouto did not give him time to react. He tackled the Hunter to the ground and the two began to roll around, violently knocking over tables and chairs. Otouto was strong and beastly, but the Hunter was an extremely skilled fighter. He mounted Otouto and raised an improvised knife over his head, preparing to stab my Alien in the throat. Razchek did not give him the chance. He hit him from behind, knocking the blade out of his hands and wrapping his muscular arms around the Hunter's neck in a rear naked choke. The Hunter stood up off of Otouto, and Razchek's legs dangled a foot and half off of the floor. The Hunter prepared to throw Razchek off of his back, but Otouto used his tail to sweep the angry alien's legs out from under him. He came crashing to the floor and Otouto seized him, wrapping his tail around his arms and restraining him with his long, gangly black arms. Razchek shouted in a labored voice,

"Now Sarah! Anytime you wanna start trying to calm this guy down would be great!"

I ran into the room and made eye contact with the Hunter. He glared at me and his mandibles spread wide in a loud, angry roar. I screamed loudly and fell on my butt. The Hunter broke free of Otouto's tail and arms and threw Razchek over his shoulder. The Marine slammed into the wall and slid down, unconscious.

The Hunter then did something that stole the breath out of my chest. He lifted Otouto up over his head and hurled the Alien at the same wall as Razchek. He hit the wall with a force that shook the station and collapsed into the sleeping Marine's lap. Otouto wasn't knocked out, but he was evidently rattled as he couldn't regain his footing. I hardly had time to notice as I was lifted up by my throat and pinned against the wall. A pair of very angry orange eyes burned into mine. My heart froze solid and I started sputtering,

"Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me…"

The Hunter frowned, shook his head. His dread locks slapped around and when he was done, he refocused on me. I spoke a bit more confidently this time,

"We don't want to hurt you, please don't fight with us. We want to be friends."

The Hunter frowned again, this time for much longer. I kept talking to him, sending soothing thoughts in his direction. He seemed like he was trying to resist. I kept pushing. Eventually, he set me down. By this time, Otouto had recovered. He saw the Hunter standing close to me and roared his fury. The Hunter turned, picking up a metal chair and snapping off a leg, brandishing it like a club. The two began to circle each other, but I ran in between them.

"Stop fighting you two! There's no reason for anybody to get hurt. Otouto calm down, he didn't hurt me."

The Alien stared, then sat back on its haunches and let out a low hiss. The Hunter observed this enigma with incredible suspicion, and then turned to look at me.

"Uh, Mr. Hunter, if you would please calm down and let the scientists take a look at you, that would be greatly appreciated."

The Hunter stared at me. It looked incredibly confused, like it suddenly couldn't figure who or what it was. It beat its hands against its large skull. I approached and put my hand on its massive, scaly arm. It was very warm! I smiled reassuringly,

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you. And if they do something nasty, I'll sick Otouto on them. Isn't that right Otouto?"

The Alien made a grunting sound deep in its throat. Razchek started stirring. He opened his eyes and looked at the Hunter and I, and then let out a loud sigh. He put his hand to his ear and spoke into his commlink,

"The area is clear, target is calmed down, you guys can come in. And send a body bag for Khruschev."

I stayed with the Hunter during the medical examination; sweet talking him and making sure nothing went wrong. They removed Dr. Khruschev's body relatively quickly. It looked as though his neck had been snapped. While Dr. Haussmann was poking the hunter with the arm that wasn't in a sling, other white coats set about cleaning blood from the floor and walls and resetting the furniture and lab equipment. Soon the medical examination was over, and I escorted the Hunter with Otouto and several Marines to a holding cell.

You wouldn't believe it, but it was even sparser than mine! In fact, there was nothing in there at all. Not even a place to go to the bathroom!

"Lt. Razchek, you can't have him stay in here. I promised him they wouldn't do anything bad to him, and this counts as bad!"

Razzy looked at me. He seemed to think for a few seconds and then spoke,

"No offense Sarah, but these guys are a lot tougher than you or me. He probably sees the floor here as an improvement to whatever he normally sleeps on. I would prefer if he were secure… he's not dumb, he can escape if we change him to a different cell. I know he's got a much higher level of sentience than a Xenomorph, but don't assume his conception of `comfort' is the same as yours. Don't assume his concept of anything is the same as yours."

That didn't make any sense to me. How can anyone not think a floor was an uncomfortable thing to sleep on? I stood my ground,

"Razzy, he's not sleeping here. I know, he can stay in my room with Otouto and me!"

Razchek sighed and shook his head.

"Sarah, I don't think you room can fit three people, much less a Hunter and a Xenomorph. I'll tell you what though. You can take him to your room while I talk to Haussmann about moving you into a bigger room. But if the good doctor won't allow it, then he's staying in here."

I nodded in agreement and took the Hunter by his hand. He stared down at me curiously with his orange eyes, which were no longer fiery but a much softer, foggy color. I smiled up at him.

"Come on Mr. Hunter, let me show you where I sleep."

Razchek disappeared to go find Dr. Haussmann and the Hunter, two Marines, Otouto, and I all went to my room. When we arrived, the Marines informed me they would be guarding the outside of the door in case something happened. I shut the door and flopped down on my cot. Otouto curled up on the floor next to me and the Hunter stood, staring at me with curiosity.

"Go on and sit down. Here, you can use this if you like," I said, throwing my only pillow to him. He caught it, looked at it, tossed it back to me and sat down on the cold floor cross-legged.

"My name is Sarah by the way. Sarah Dupree," I said. Then I smacked myself in the head.

"Duh! Look at stupid old me, trying to talk to an alien. You probably have no idea what I'm saying, do you? Boy, you must think I'm sort of babbling idiot."

"I understand you, Sar'ah Dup'ree," said a low, gravelly voice. I fell out of my cot and landed on top of Otouto, who squealed loudly in surprise.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone, here's Chappy Six! Thanks to cherrybaby93, kaji enzeru, kaitamis, Possumpie, GrayHuntress, Nanoe, FriendToHobbits, and everyone else for all their wonderful reviews! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**Chapter 6**

"You can talk!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs.

The Hunter did not seem to appreciate my shrieking or my question. He gave me what I felt was a derisive look and said,

"I speak many language. Important for hunting. Mimic calls of prey. Ooman speak is just another form of calls."

He had a very gruff tone, which, accompanied by his shortness of words led me to believe he did not talk very often.

"Oomans? Is that what you call us?" I asked.

He nodded his head. "Also call you `Pyode Amedha'. Means `soft meat'. Call him 'Kainde Amedha'. This means `hard meat'," he said, looking at Otouto.

Otouto hissed at him. Obviously the Xenomorph felt a natural animosity towards the Hunter, who clicked back at him.

"Why Hard Meat no killing?" the Hunter said.

"Who, Otouto? I keep him calm. Apparently I have some kind of psychic calming effect on animals. You're the first person I've tried it on. Thank you for not killing me by the way."

The Hunter grunted and closed his eyes, crossing his palms in his lap.

"So…what are you doing."

His closed eyes squinted in frustration.

"I am attempting to meditate." He said irritably.

"Oh. Whatcha meditating about?"

He sighed loudly and opened his eyes again to look at me.

"Trying to understand how you can be psychic. I meditate often. It is how I got my name, ` Dekna Kjuhte'. It means `void eyes', the Elders say I spend too much time thinking."

"Ugh. That sounds boring. Tell me about yourself!" I said.

He gave me an annoyed look and said,

"Why do you care so much?"

I laughed and replied,

"Because I don't get to talk to aliens that often. Well, I talk to Otouto here but he can't exactly respond back."

He gave the equivalent of a sigh and began to tell me about himself and his people. I learned about his species, they call themselves the Yautja, and all about his clan.

Dekna was born the son of a famous warrior, who had sired many children. Dekna was not always the strongest or the fastest of his brothers, but he was easily the smartest. This had come in handy during his blooding trial.

"Blooding trial?" I asked.

"Yes. One of our most sacred rituals. The Shiva is the day when unblooded warriors test themselves against the Kainde Amedha and become men."

"Oh. Cool. What happened during yours?"

"The landing did not go as planned. I ended up much farther from the trial grounds than my brothers. By the time I had navigated my way there, they were all dead."

"Oh my. I'm sorry to hear that." I said in a shocked tone.

"Why sorry? Such is the life of a Yautja. One can only hope to die gloriously in battle. Regardless, I was alone and there were many Hard Meat. So, I set a trap. The blooding ground was a cavern, and in one of the tunnels I set up a crude explosive. Then I lured the Hard Meat in and detonated the bomb. After that, there were very few Hard Meat left. I finished them off myself."

Here he stopped to thump his chest and I couldn't help but giggle.

"It brought me great honor. Although I have many cycles left until I am truly esteemed."

"I can't help but notice that you've picked up our language quite well."

He gave what looked like a grin and tapped himself on the skull.

"All up here. Just needed a little talk to bring it out."

Before our conversation could go any further, Razchek opened up the door and came in.

"Razzy, you won't believe this, but Dekna, er…the Hunter can talk!" I exclaimed loudly.

The Marine paused and looked at the Hunter, then back at me.

"I don't doubt it. I've heard stories about them using their voices to bait Marines into traps. How fluent are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Dekna grunted and responded, "Quite fluent."

Razzy nodded, as though it did not surprise him. He turned to look at me,

"Good news: I managed to get you a bigger room. Bad news, it's previously been used for cold storage and it will take a while to warm up. I suspect you'll want extra blankets tonight. I've got some Marines making it livable as we speak. Also, bathroom is not in the room, you'll have to cross the hall."

I was very happy. I would get to stay with my two roommates! I said,

"So? When can I move in? I've got a bunch of stuff that I have to bring!"

I waved my hands at the empty room and Razzy smiled.

"We can go over and check it out right now if you'd like. Haussmann insists that I bring an escort for your new friend though."

I nodded. That old scientist was getting paranoid. Couldn't he see that Dekna wasn't going to hurt anybody? I said,

"OK, let's go now! Then when I'm done checking the place out maybe we can go play with Jessy and her friends. Then we can have dinner in the cafeteria again!"

Razzy clapped his hands together, "Sounds like a plan."

Once again we were touring the halls of Shangri La. When we arrived at my new room, I charged inside. Immediately my teeth started to chatter.

"Razzy, its freezing in here!"

The Marine turned to look at me and said,

"Weren't you listening when I said it would be cold? It'll be a few hours before the place reaches room temperature."

Otouto didn't seem to mind, but Dekna shifted uncomfortably and said,

"I hate the cold."

I agreed quite a bit. I voiced my opinion,

"Razzy, can't you like, get us a different room. Please?"

The Marine brought a hand up and slapped himself on the part of his helmet protecting his forehead.

"Damnit Sarah, do you know how many favors I had to pull to get this room? Why can't you just wait for it to warm up and throw on an extra blanket for god's sake?"

I bristled at his tone, "You don't have to be a jerk about it. I was just asking, was all."

Then Dekna decided to add his two cents. He looked at Razchek and spoke venomously,

"In my culture, when females are shown disrespect, the consequences are often very severe."

The threat in his voice was apparent for all to hear. Otouto started to tense up, letting out a low hiss at the sudden surge of adrenalin in the room. Razzy responded to Dekna's threat with a deep, sarcastic droll that sounded like a cowboy from an ancient western movie,

"Well, partner, in case ya'll haven't noticed we ain't exactly in `your culture' no more. And I'd 'preciatate it if ya'll didn't take such a threatenin' tone with me now."

Dekna stood up to his full height and threw his arms out to the side.

"Mock me again ooman and it will be the last thing you do."

Once again I had to jump in-between to prevent a fight. Razzy was glaring at Dekna and had one hand loosely set on his pistol. Dekna was prepared to spring, and Otouto was clearly antagonized by both of them. I spoke firmly,

"Everybody just calm down. You're all a bunch of testosterone junkies who need to take a chill pill. Honestly, you're all constantly fighting. Why? There's no real reason for it. You should all just learn to be friends."

Razzy spoke up, "The Alien fights because it's his biological function. The Hunter fights for his honor. I fight because I'm a Marine and it's my job. Is that clear enough for you, Sarah?"

I blustered at his refutation of my statement. Goddamnit, why couldn't they just behave the way I wanted them to? I was in charge here, and I would get my way whether it made sense or not.

"I don't care! None of you are fighting and that's final!"

The effect was immediate. Otouto relaxed and lied down on the floor. Razzy sighed and his hand slipped off of his pistol. Dekna raised his hands up and bowed his head, obviously some Yautja sign language for submission. Razzy spoke up,

"Look Sarah, I'm sorry about the temperature. But it was the best I could do for you. If you want, we can go see Jessy and the kids now. It'll be warmer by the time we get back tonight."

I sighed, "OK Mr. Marine. I'll take your word for it. And I'm sorry about complaining. Thank you for going out of the way for me."

He smiled and tapped his helmet in a salute. I felt my heart flutter.

"What the hell was that all about?" I mumbled quietly to myself.

We left the "freezer" as I was now calling it and headed over to the children's area. I wanted to show Jess and Timothy my new Hunter friend. I'm sure they would be overjoyed at the site. When we arrived, that was exactly the case.

"So cool!" Timothy yelled, his Xenomorph tail wagging behind him excitedly. The children had surrounded Dekna and were running their hands along his reptilian like skin and testing the material on his loincloth. Dekna did not seem to appreciate being prodded like old moldy meatloaf, and looked at me.

"Can you please get the pups to stop touching me? I'm not very good with young ones."

That made me laugh out loud. "Sure Dekna. Otouto, go get the children off of the Hunter. Gently."

The alien ran over and using his tail scooped the children away from the antagonized humanoid. The children giggled at this, and began to climb on Otouto and wrestle with him. The Xenomorph, for his part, was incredibly gentle.

Dekna walked to my side.

"Thank you Sa'rah. It is strange, seeing hard meat behave in such a way."

I smiled. "Normally they wouldn't…but I guess being around me has caused Otouto to become calm and friendly. It really is quite wonderful. Dr. Haussmann says that with time I might be able to influence entire hives into behaving like that."

I felt a sudden surge in my heart. "If I work hard enough, I can put a stop to the Alien threat! Xenos won't kill any more, and people like Razzy won't have to kill them in turn!"

Dekna stared at me for a long time with his orange eyes. Then slowly, he spoke.

"The world you describe is one where my species' culture is nonexistent. How can the Yautja continue to exist as a people without the hunt?"

I turned to stare at him, and my jaw dropped. I responded angrily,

"You can't keep on killing people! That's wrong! You should learn to be friends with the humans and aliens. Develop a culture that doesn't revolve around people ripping out each other's skulls!"

Dekna's brow furrowed. He drew a hand up to his chin and scratched idly at the small, spiny hairs that grew there. Suddenly, he turned to face me full on. He reached out and grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up. His eyes were bright, furious orange, and they locked onto mine.

"Dekna, what are you doing?" I choked out.

The children stopped playing with Otouto, who was now standing angrily and drawing closer, mouth dripping ooze. Razzy, who until now had remained silently observing, quickly drew his side arm and pointed it at Dekna's head. Dekna ignored both of them, and watched as his furious orange eyes slowly took on a foggy haze. He dropped me and shook his head rapidly back and forth.

"Sar'ah. I am sorry. I do not know what possessed me. Please, accept my apologies for my dishonorable behavior."

I rubbed my throat and stared idly up at the massive being.

"That's OK Dekna. No one got hurt, so what does it really matter?"

A loud squeal of laughter tore my eyes away from the Hunter. Otouto had started playing with the children again and Razzy had re-holstered his sidearm. The Marine stepped back silently and continued to observe the interaction between the Hunter and me.

Dekna reached out and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Your cause is noble, Sa'rah. I will do my best to help you achieve it. Many in my species will resist such change. But with your help, I will make them see the wisdom of your words."

He gave my shoulder a firm squeeze, and I felt my face grow hot.

"Omigosh. I am not getting flustered by having Dekna touch me. I just met the guy!" I thought to myself. He removed his hand and I felt my face cool down.

We played with the children for another five minutes. Dekna picked Jessy up and let her play with his dreadlocks. It was so sweet! Eventually though, Dr. Smith told us we had to leave, as it was the children's bedtime.

"Goodbye Sarah! Goodbye Dekna! Goodbye Otouto! Goodbye Mr. Razchek!" Jessy rapidly called out after us. I giggled and waved goodbye.

Next we head up for the cafeteria. I went to order the food, and the cook was once again flabbergasted at my company.

"Jesus Christ lady, where the hell are you picking these guys up?"

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, and then ordered our meals. When I approached the table carrying the trays of food, Razzy was already in conversation with Dekna.

"-anyways after reading that book in high school, and after the colonial rebels hit one of the nearby towns, I decided to join the NROTC at my college. Four years later I was shooting bugs in the outer colonies."

Dekna nodded his understanding, obviously impressed with the tale that Razzy had been telling.

"Food's here!" I shouted and started putting down plates. Razzy ate his grilled cheese with relish, while Otouto once again demonstrated his lack of table manners and rapidly tore into his burger patties. Dekna poked at his hamburger, seemingly suspicious of it, before bringing it up to his face and taking a slow bite. His eyes lit up and he quickly finished the sandwich off.

After eating our dinner and shooting the breeze for a half hour, we all eventually went back to the "Freezer". It had warmed up some, although it was still chilly. Razzy brought some extra blankets and said his goodbyes.

That night, I nearly froze my butt off. The blankets helped some, but they still weren't enough. I shifted uncomfortably. Dekna, who was lying on a simple blanket on the floor, sensed my discomfort.

"Sa'rah? What is wrong? You are cold."

I nodded my head, and he stood up. What he did next took my breath away. He wrapped his blanket around himself, approached me, and then lay down next to me, hugging me to his body. His big arms wrapped around me, and he was very warm.

I didn't have time to comment, as I was soon fast asleep in the arms of my Hunter.

Squeeeee! I love fluff! Next chapter is super important, so everyone pay attention!


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone! This is gonna be a long chapter, so get some coffee, buckle down and ENJOY.

**Chapter 7**

I was awakened in a sudden and rather unpleasant way. A large jolt, knocking over the lamp that Razzy had brought to light the room. Dekna was on his feet immediately, eyes alert for any threats. I looked to Otouto and saw that he had jumped off of the floor and latched onto the ceiling, near a vent. Another powerful jolt, and I fell out of my cot and onto the cold floor. Dekna stooped and helped me up. I spoke,

"What's happening Dekna, what's all the shaking?"

He turned and looked to me.

"I know not. The shaking is throughout the entire station, that much I can tell you. It feels…familiar, somehow. Could it be…?"

He seemed to stop and think, and then lowered his head to the floor, listening intently like an Indian in an ancient Western movie. Another, powerful rock hit the station, and I stumbled before grabbing the wall for support. Dekna stood.

"It is as I feared. Only Yautja weapons can have that type of effect. My clansmen have come for me."

I gasped and brought my hands to my face. More Hunters? I would have a hell of a time calming them all down. There would probably be a fight…and bloodshed. I felt sick to my stomach. Suddenly, there was a firm, heavy hand on my shoulder. It was Dekna.

"Do not worry Sar'ah. I will protect you. My Clansmen might be hot blooded, but they are not unreasonable beings."

That made me feel a lot better somehow. Suddenly the door wooshed open, and Razzy ran in wearing his armor and carrying a HUGE gun. I think he called it a Smart Gun, but I wasn't sure.

"Station's under attack. Big Hunter ship just decloaked and took out our defensive guns."

Dekna looked at the Marine and said,

"They'll launch a boarding harpoon and tube any moment now. Their goal is to retrieve me, or destroy my body and retrieve my equipment, if they must. I must have my weapons, and I must be able to-"

I screamed at what happened next. That boarding harpoon he was talking about must have slammed into the station pretty hard, because the shock wave caused the ceiling to collapse. Debris and dust flew everywhere, and I was hit on the head by something sharp. I heard Otouto squeal and hit the ground. Dekna had hit the deck, and I couldn't see Razzy.

When the dust cleared, I saw something that made my heart freeze solid. Razzy was lying on the ground, a large metal pipe over his back. His face was to the ground, and he was not moving.

"Razzy!" I yelled.

Incredible light. White as the center of the hottest sun. That's what Lt. Razchek saw. He was standing in a massive, white abyss, surrounded by the brightness.

"What the hell? Heaven must not need to save on energy bills," said the befuddled Marine.

"You ain't in heaven boy. It's a little bit more like purgatory. You're in the great void, a brighter part of where the todash chimes ring."

That voice. Razzy recognized it. It was someone close to him… he felt a reply coming to his lips,

"Todash chimes? What the hell you talking about? Who are you?"

The voice grunted, and a figure began to shimmer into appearance. Jim couldn't quite make out who it was yet.

"You need to spend more of your precious sack time reading Stephen King."

Razzy chortled. "I'm more of a Robert Heinlein guy."

The figure was slowly becoming more and more visible. Razzy made out a man, and saw him nodding his head.

"`The Master' is a fine writer as well. Possibly the best, if such a label could be given."

The figure ceased to blur, and Lt. Razchek felt his heart surge at the man he saw. It had been a few years, but he still recognized his old CO sure as he recognized himself in the mirror every morning.

"Colonel Hughes... It's good to see you again, Sir. What the hell is going on?"

The man, who was dressed pristinely in the dress uniform of the Colonial Marine Corps, gave a sporty, good-old-boy half grin, the crow's feet around his toughened, battle hardened eyes wrinkling in pleasure. His high-and-tight cut was a drab, gunmetal grey, distinctly different than the brown that Razchek remembered.

"I'll tell you what's going on boy. You've sustained a severe blow to the head, and that combined with your…lady friend's… psychic energy field has you "trippin balls" as I would have said in my younger days."

"Oh. So you're not really real then?"

Hughes seemed surprised at this, and brought his hands up to run along his chest and face.

"Goodness no, I'm quite real. At least I think I am. You see, command had me shipped to a biomedical facility on a hostile jungle planet, and we just had a large containment breach of airborne fungus. Of the psychedelic variety. I am also, `trippin balls', and that is what is allowing us to have this conversation."

Razzy looked at him strangely.

"That's an amazing coincidence, if you don't mind my saying….uh, sir."

The colonel laughed loudly, a deep, booming sound that resembled an evil scientist.

"I don't mind at all, son. Our particular universe is filled with an unusual number of amazing coincidences. Remember our old unit motto, "Dues Ex Machina"? But enough talk of metaphysics. You and I need to have a very serious conversation, lieutenant."

"About what?" Jim felt his curiosity peak. What had his old commanding officer come across space and time to tell him?

Hughes took on the serious look of a man who had been outraged by something.

"About your damn girlfriend and what she is doing to the fabric of the universe."

"Sarah isn't my girlfriend, Colonel. And what do you mean?"

The man grunted and began to pace back in forth, gesticulating as he spoke.

"Son, there are some things you have to understand about the way the world works. Life is a shithole. Suffering and misery are second nature to sentient beings the universe over. But there's a reason for that, and it's not because some proverbial `god' just happens to be a sick sonavabitch. Violence and struggle give human life meaning. If we don't have to suffer and work for the things in our lives, then the value they have to us is decreased tenfold. More important to a person than being physically and conditionally happy is having meaning in their lives. Why do you think so many religious ascetics are happier than some of the richest men in the world? Because despite their poverty and physical discomfort, they find great meaning in their suffering. It gives their existence a purpose."

He paused here, allowing the information to sink into Razchek's head.

"And that is the reason why I am here talking to you. We need to discuss the purpose of existence. Not only of human existence but the existence of the Aliens and the Predators as well. We have already established that integral to humans finding meaning in their lives is strain and work and pain and suffering. To that end, the Aliens and the Predators are for us, the largest source of said suffering. They are integral to achieving meaning in our lives, not only for the tangible threat to our existence that they create but for the symbolism they represent."

"Sybolism, Sir?" Razchek asked.

"Yes son, symbolism. They Alien and the Predator are not just superficial monsters that haunt our dreams. They stand for something. The Alien represents many things. It is the darkness in the unexplored, the ultimate manifestation of the monstrosities that lurk just beyond how far we can see into the human psyche. They are overtly sexual, both in form and nature. Their sole purpose and their soul purpose is to breed and spread, overtaking and consuming all that lives around them. They are pure, remorseless violence, unadulterated mercilessness. They have no conscience, no feeling, they don't give a damn about the things they kill. All in the name of selfless devotion to the glory and purity of form that only the hive can provide."

He stopped, taking a breath. Razchek listened on with utter fascination.

"The Predators, on the other hand, stand for individualism. They embody the concept of the noble savage, something many humans strive for but usually fail. The idea of pitting one's self against nature, about being in touch with the primal side of our conscious, the side that drives us to hunt and kill and eat the flesh of our fallen prey. The Predators say `Fuck you!' to comfort. The only drive in their lives is the will to hunt, and to kill. That is what gives their lives meaning. The reason they blow themselves up so callously upon their defeat is that for them, it is the best kind of death. Perishing gloriously during the activity that gives them purpose, that makes them feel alive! The meaning and romance of it all is far more important than their pitiful existence!"

Again he stopped to breath.

"The two beasts are monsters, to be sure, but they are monsters that set an example for us. They are something for us to put ourselves in contrast with, to gauge and better understand ourselves."

Suddenly, the Colonel became enraged.

"They are not people! They have almost nothing in common with human kind! The way your stupid, immature little girlfriend twists and distorts their purity of form to resemble something that is too human is a threat to the very purpose and meaning of our universe. They are monsters, goddamnit! Beautiful monsters, glorious, purposeful monsters, but they are still and they always should be monsters!"

Here he stopped to wipe the sweat off of his brow. Razchek's mouth hung open in shock. Colonel Hughes composed himself.

"She has the hots for the Hunter you know, your little girlfriend. I don't hold it against her though. They are the embodiment of manliness. Huge, muscular, savage creatures concerned with their honor and pride. Hell, if it weren't for their physical differences I would be surprised if half the women in existence didn't develop crushes on them. But the idea of a romance between the two species becoming cannon! Ugh! I'm all for free love, but the very act of developing a relationship with a Predator is a perversion. Fantasy is one thing, hell, maybe their females are hot enough to where I wouldn't mind getting busy with one. But to create a world where human women and Predator males can fall in love with each other left and right all the time is completely blasphemous. It defeats the purpose of the Predator!"

"And the girl herself. Sarah. I knew a girl like her once. Mary Sue, that was her name. Stupid, superficial whore that contributed nothing to the world she was in. Sure, she was pretty, and sweet, and that was what caused people to fall for her trick. Only after spending time with her did I realize that she was a waste of time, in a world filled with characters that were truly unique, that contributed something, why would I spend time with a woman like that? Because she was intoxicatingly comfortable to be around?"

"Sarah isn't like that!" Razchek interrupted, angrily.

"HA! What do you know about her, boy? What has she done that revealed some inner depth, some internal struggle?"

"Uh…she's good with animals and she abhors violence?"

Colonel Hughes stared at Razzy, with a deadpan, "Uh-huh" type face that said he wasn't buying it. Then he spoke,

"Remember what I said about discomfort being necessary to furthering a person's existence, to helping them find meaning in their lives? Well, when you have a Mary Sue, that doesn't happen. Everything around them becomes a superficial void. Follow the example that the Predators set. Put yourself in dangerous or uncomfortable situations to discover things about yourself, to learn what it means to be human! Do what must be done, son. For the sake of our universe, and maybe for the sake of others as well."

Razchek stared at Hughes, confused at first, and then slowly, it dawned on him. It would be hard, but the old man was right. It needed to be done.

"I understand Sir."

"Good. I knew that you would."

Slowly, the world that Razzy was in began to darken. He watched as Colonel Hughes, that important man that had helped make him into the soldier he was. Before the figure disappeared entirely, there was one final word.

"Don't hesitate, son. Good luck. I'll see you around."

"Goodbye, Sir."

"Razzy! Razzy!" I shook his body, trying to wake him up. I was crying big fat drops out of my eyes now. It wasn't supposed to be this way! I was supposed to take my friends, maybe marry one of them, and together we were going to make the universe a beautiful place, where our hybrid children would grow up to be even more powerful and beautiful than us!

Suddenly, I heard a cough. Razzy began to shuffle, and I felt my heart surge with joy! Dekna and Otouto hefted the pipe off of the Marine, and I helped him to his feet. He stood, shakily, and then gathered himself.

Suddenly, there was a heavy blow to my chest, and I fell backwards. What had happened?

Razzy gave Sarah a powerful kick in her stomach, knocking her backwards and against the wall. He would need the range. The Marine ignored Otouto's angry screech and Dekna's shocked roar as Sarah hit the wall with a heavy thud. He raised the smart gun.

Maybe the action of killing Sarah had temporarily deafened him, or maybe his head was still wringing from the concussion, either way, Razzy didn't hear the bullets hitting her so much as he saw them. When the human body receives an impact, shockwaves originate in rings from the site of the bullet. Razzy watched, in slow motion, interestingly enough, as a dozen such impacts rattled across her body. Her internal organs popped like water balloons filled with spaghetti sauce, and her bones were pulverized, by the high velocity rounds, into a fine white powder that stained red instantly.

Eventually, her body split in half, and she fell to the ground. Razzy stopped firing. He approached Sarah, and was shocked to see she was still alive. The shock gave him pause, and he hesitated. Suddenly, he felt something began to worm its way into his mind, something evil.

"Razzy? Why?" The bloody figure asked.

Then Razzy made a severe error. He hesitated.

"I…I…"

His stuttering was interrupted by a heavy hand on his shoulder. Razzy turned and stared into a pair of fiery orange eyes. The flame and fury of the entire Yautja race burned in them, and Razzy knew that he was not going to be the one to kill Sarah.

Slowly, Dekna approached Sarah, looking down at her with his magma filled orbs. Sarah, confused at this turn of events, looked up at him.

"Dekna, help me please. I…I love you", she said weakly.

The Hunter visibly recoiled, taken aback by the statement. Then, he roared. It was a mighty roar, the mightiest that had ever been delivered. The fury of the jungle was in it, of every beast that crawled, swam and flew. Dekna raised his foot, and brought it down with a resounding crash on Sarah's head. Her skull shattered like an eggshell, bits of bone and goo flew everywhere and spattered the floor.

Razzy immediately felt the release of her hold on his brain. It felt as though he had been reborn. The world came to him in great clarity. He was Lt. Jim "Razzy" Razchek, commanding officer of Razchek's Reapers and Colonial Marine.

But if the hold on his mind was free as well…then that meant! He swung around and brought the gun to bear. He watched as Otouto's tail disappeared through the door, nothing but a trail of slime left to indicate that the Alien had ever been there.

A heavy blow to his back sent Razchek sprawling. He was suddenly hoisted up and pinned against the wall by Dekna. He detached his Smart Gun, useless in this situation, and drew his knife, holding it against the Hunter's throat. The Predator spoke, in Razchek's own voice,

"I'd 'preciatate it if ya'll didn't take such a threatenin' tone"

Razzy stared, and nodded. He sheathed his knife and Dekna dropped him. The two stared at each other, before Razzy pulled an object out of his pocket. He brought up a holographic map, and pointed to a room on one of the higher levels.

"Your equipment is here. I'll have my boys leave it open for you."

The Hunter nodded, and looked at Razzy. He brought two fingers up to his face, and pointed at his angry orange eyes. Then he used the same hand to slap himself on the back, before pointing at Razzy.

The Marine laughed.

"I always am, partner. Good luck."

Dekna ran out of the room, but before he reached the lift, he turned and looked at Razzy one more time. The Hunter gave the slightest inclination of his head.

Razzy grinned and snapped a salute. Dekna turned and pried the elevator doors open, climbing up the shaft and out of site.

Razzy picked up his Smart Gun and spoke into his comlink on all channels.

"This is Lt. Razchek, calling for a full evacuation of the base. I repeat, full evac of the base. Everyone get to the shuttles."

He was walking down the hall, issuing the order a third time when he stepped in the slime. Shit, he had forgotten.

"New order. All Marines to my position. We're going on a bug hunt."

The Alien crawled quickly through the vents, trying to find a location suitable for its activities. In the depths of its mind, it remembered a familiar place. One with lots of easy prey. It paused, and using its incredible senses gathered where it was and where it needed to be. The Alien took off down the shaft, claws clicking against the metal and leaving marks.

It arrived. The small creatures were stuffing objects into containers, and the Alien sensed they were going to depart soon. That would be detrimental to the hive. A quick swipe of the claws and the vent was smashed open, and the Alien dropped into the room with the organisms. One issued a piercing shriek, and then calmed down almost instantly. The Alien began to slowly make its way towards this organism.

The creature said something; it was familiar in the Alien's mind but ultimately meant nothing to him. The Alien picked the creature up, who continued to make sounds. Slowly, the Alien's maw opened, and then the creature began to struggle.

When he was done with the first one, and the second one, and eventually all of them, he began to secrete resin on the walls and attach hosts. Suddenly, there was a spark in the Alien's mind. It felt something, familiar, and yet at the same time, it was abomination. The Alien made its way to a corner of the room and realized that it had missed one of the organisms. This one though, there was something different about it. It felt as though it was a member of the hive, and yet not. Recognition. It bore anatomy similar to his own, but also of the prey. The Alien knew what it was. Defunct drone, imperfect, something had gone wrong during the birthing process. Instinct dictated that the hive be purified of invalid members. A quick swipe of the tail, and the deed was done. The Alien returned to its hive building.

Razzy and his Marines ran through the halls, scanning with the motion detector.

Jose spoke up, "Why the evac sir?"

Marceline smacked him on the back of his head.

"Idiot! Even if we could repel the hunters, they would just blow it up with their ship! We need to make sure that the Alien is dead and get the hell out of dodge!"

"Jesus Christo, Marcy, you don't have to be such a bitch about it."

Marceline smacked him again.

"Cut it out you two. I just got a call from Haussmann. The good doctor says that none of the child experiments have reported in. I think we know where the Alien is."

Jose was mortified, "Aw man, the kids man? Aw man…"

Razzy felt his pain. But there was nothing they could do about. They needed to make sure the Alien didn't get off the station, and then save their own hides. They arrived.

The room was dark and moist. Furniture had been knocked over, and blood was everywhere. Stuffed animals and toys fell out of Mickey Mouse backpacks that had been dropped in the slaughter. The bodies were strung up to the wall with Hive material.

"Sonavabitch works fast…" Marceline said to herself.

"Cut the chatter. Check your intervals and watch the corners."

Razzy was tense. Just the slightest motion and his smart gun would track it, blast it, and they could get the hell out.

Suddenly, a scream. Jose was on his back, and the Alien tore into his armor with his claws. One of the Marines raised his gun. Marcaline slapped it down.

"No! Do that and you'll melt him!"

Razzy was running. He smashed into the Alien at full speed, using his smart gun as a battering ram. The hideous beast fell backwards, and Marcy cooked it with her flamer.

Razzy felt his head drop and sighed. He got up to check on Jose. He was in bad shape.

"EllTee…shit man, I don't think I'm gonna make it."

Razchek slapped him across the face.

"Shut up Private. I''ve had paper cuts worse than this. Up we go."

Razchek and another Marine hauled him to his feet. Then they were running again.

There was one drop ship left. Just enough space to fit the entire group. They were inside and Razchek was shouting at the pilot.

"Get us the hell out of here, now!"

G-Force. Razzy fell backwards and had to crawl into his seat. He watched as the hangar spit them out, and then there were those beautiful stars. He saw on a nearby monitor as the boarding harpoon detached itself from Shangri La. The Hunter ship began to pull away, but not before discharging several rounds from its main cannon into the space station. Shangri La exploded in a brilliant light, white as a sun. Debris flew everywhere, and it took some skillful maneuvering on the part of the pilot to not get pulverized.

Razchek watched as the Hunter ship warped away. He smiled.

"Good hunting, Dekna."

They hooked up with the other shuttles as well the escape pods. Almost everyone had made it out, it looked like. Dr. Haussmann chimed in over the radio,

"Glad to see you are still alive Lieutenant. The Colonial Marines have been notified and are sending a ship to pick us up. I suggest that you get comfortable, it'll be awhile."

Razzy pulled a flask out of his fatigues. He looked at it, and then handed it to the Marine next to him.

"Funny thing about comfort Doctor. It might feel good, but it doesn't do much for the soul."

**END**

If you have made it this far, my congratulations. There are many who would read this chapter less than halfway through because it says some things that they don't like. I consider this chapter to be the only one of any real value. All the others are garbage in my eyes, a simple tool that I used to set the events of Chapter Seven up. It was funny, writing Sarah's story out and saying to myself over a number of lines "This is utter bullshit. But that's OK, because I am writing for it to look like bullshit".

For those of you who understood what the purpose of the last chapter was, congratulations. I am well aware that much of the demographic that I was trying to reach is simply not bright enough nor mature enough to understand what went on here. You few people, however, are the reason why I wrote it. Because many of you may be like me. You are distinctly aware that the greater whole of fanfiction, and the fandom as a whole, for our genre is complete and utter crap. It's always the same bad Mary Sue character, written in an incredibly annoying first person, falling in love with a Yautja or becoming one with the Aliens because they just so happen to be a hybrid that the hive just so happens to accept into their fold. Or any terrible combination thereof.

It was not always this way, of course. Many years ago, when the community was a group of people who enjoyed the award winning games a little more than others and folks who were into the DarkHorse comics. Oh, I won't lie and say that fanfiction and fanart and the fandom as whole was perfect back then, some of it was pretty lame. But there was also a lot of substance. Members of the fandom existed beyond "OMG plz chek out my Yautjan/Xeno/ Hybrid OC who is totally not a marysue btw and her lover hk'jkl'lo'pd'zqw'tgyr who is a totall honorable Yutatja who would never hurt her and protect her with his life!11!11!"

Suffice to say, we have fallen a long way. After AvP came out in 2004, the fandom was overrun by immature fan girls (and admittedly, a significant number of fan boys) who began to delve into something that they hadn't the vaguest understanding of. Riddly Scott (The director of the original Alien) was aghast at the film, and I imagine he would be aghast at this fandom, because frankly, the conceptualization of what a Xenomoprh and Predator are out there is completely and horribly skewed from what they once were.

It is true; people may write whatever they want and whatever they feel like. Technically speaking, they have a right to do so. But if I want to exercise my freedom of speech, going to the town square and shouting "ABABADABADADALALA THERE IS A GOAT IN MY PANTS!" is not the correct way to do it. And I imagine, to those people who are trying to have a legitimate protest, or are trying to listen to what the legitimate protestors have to say, it would be extremely annoying.

The AvP fandom as it stands right now is a large group of insane, shouting morons who are so loud and annoying and so numerous that it is impossible for the legitimate protestors to get their message out, and for anyone with a brain to understand what they are saying.

The ultimate message of "A Reality With Monsters" is this. Please, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, stop writing the same crap, and please, for the love of the same Flying Spaghetti Monster, write something that has a value to it.

Our beautiful monsters deserve as much.


End file.
